Written by: Zach Greene (@zachegreene)

Any loss to the Boilermakers hurts, but because of the loss of a star in the making in Dexter Williams. A kind, humble, young man who was able to capture the hearts of Hoosiers fans before he went down with a devastating leg injury,

“Felt really good about what we had planned out. It’s just tough. I hate it for him. An amazing young man. He was taken to the hospital. I have no words, to be honest with you. It’s part of the game and you have to learn how to adjust,” said head coach Tom Allen on Williams after the game.

Williams was outstanding. His ability to run along with speedster Jaylin Lucas provided sparks that hadn’t been seen all season. Williams also looked more crisp throwing the ball and just when things felt great Williams suffered a traumatic injury.

“It’s a knee injury. We are going to need further evaluation. It’s not an ACL. I do know that. It’s obviously serious.” said Allen

The injury was shocking. I was right in front of it. It was horrible. Hearing the crowd at Memorial Stadium go silent was mind-blowing. It did not look good and I immediately felt sick to my stomach.

The game plan and preparation were right on by the players and coaches. Today’s game provided the winning formula going forward. A mobile quarterback with a speeder in Jaylin Lucas, and a between-the-tackle guy in Josh Henderson.

“Yes, without question.” Allen said when asked about the mobile quarterback aspect.

The mobile quarterback aspect led to a 71-yard triple-option touchdown run from freshman Jaylin Lucas and 215 yards on the ground. That averaged out to 4.9 per carry and the Hoosiers put themselves in reasonable third-down yardage.

The Hoosiers were never able to recover from Williams's injury and struggled in the red zone. converting and scoring on two of four drives. Senior Charles Campbell who has been spectacular also missed a kick and had the other one blocked.

Allen had this to say about the red zone production. “The field gets smaller and the field shrinks. The receivers have to be able to win their one on ones. A guy like Cam Camper steps up in that situation in we need that guy.”

The program has had the worst of luck when it comes to injuries and has not been able to catch any breaks in the past two years. Yes, that includes fumble recoveries.

That said, I will feel good knowing that I was right about the young star in Dexter Williams. Since before the season I stated the Williams should start. I do believe that if IU can keep this young offensive core together, they will achieve success. That’s why the new NIL fund and funding for the program are so crucial to the future success. It will take time and money, but bad luck cannot get worse and there are things to look forward to.

The Huddle

Hoosiers Unable to Bounce Back from Williams' Injury, but the Foundations on the Offense Were Shown

Hoosier Huddle